Superman: Project Infinity
by J.D. Thyme
Summary: Not the actual story (or hopefully, set of stories) itself, but rather an introduction to it. This particular storyline will focus on the adventures of Superman in a dark, alternate Reality. Stripped of his home, his loves, he is placed on an Earth far da
1. An Introduction

To understand what you are about to read, you need to understand that the following does NOT occur in the current timeline of the Superman comic book series. Superman, as we know him, has changed quite a bit since this particular storyline, taken and adapted from several years of online roleplay, came into being. As such, try to think of where Superman was in 1997... just after the entire "Trial" ordeal. If you're not familiar with that story arc, worry not... it really doesn't apply here.  
  
The following story is my personal attempt to humanize Superman. My biggest complaint about the writers of the Superman line is their consistent attempts to make him into something alien... focusing more on his powers, and how much he is different from us... the normal humans who just try to be heroes with the limits that God gave us.  
  
This first "story" will actually serve as an introduction to both my version of Superman (conflicts with current and accepted canon notwithstanding), and the world in which he has found himself -- the world of the Project Infinity MUX.  
  
Note that all descriptions of the Project Infinity universe, although I use them for this text, are not my own creation. As such, I recognize that there might be a conflict of interest here; I recognize that the main arc of this story relies on someone else's thoughts and creations.  
  
So... I do what I can to offer tribute and proper credit to those who inspired the story here, although I only ever knew him as "Alan" or "Earthquake." So... Alan, if you read this, and want me to remove it, I will. Otherwise, let the story continue. 


	2. The Setting

A note: This was not written by myself. Instead, it was written by Alan, the creator of the Project Infinity MUX... so all credit for this portion goes to him.  
  
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"The Project failed, you see. It was destroyed before it had a chance to succeed. But the failure of Project Infinity accomplished more than its success ever could. Its failure changed the world."  
  
- From 'Infinite Variations: The Secret History of Beacon Harbor'.  
  
The Forties  
  
With the coming of World War Two, several patriotic heroes emerged and engaged the Nazi war machine both within the United States and abroad. Names like Captain Freedom, Miss Liberty, General Victory, and American Eagle became household names. This was the great Golden Age era, the beginning of super-powered humans on earth. For Beacon Harbor, the war was a blast of energy into the city's moribund economy, not only as a great industrial center, but as one of the priority points for overseas military shipping.  
  
The Fifties  
  
As the war ended and the world tried to once again return to 'normalcy', the heroes of the Great War began to gather together in various superhero groups, each dedicated to struggling against tyranny and evil. They continued the fight against the growing super-villain menace around the world. Meanwhile, Beacon Harbor avoided the after-war economic recession by becoming a leader in cutting edge technologies and a leading manufacturer of military items of the Cold War. For these reasons, the city became a center of paranormal/superhero activities.  
  
The Sixties  
  
As the social and political upheaval of the sixties grew to consume the entire nation, the superheroes of the country were not spared. While some of the older, more experienced teams weather the turmoil, newer teams suffer the most. Many super-teams were pulled apart by conflicting political and social views.  
  
The city of Beacon Harbor continued to prosper steadily; by this time it is among the twenty largest cities in the nation.  
  
The Seventies  
  
By the opening of the decade of the 1970s, most of the superheroes of World War II have either retired, vanished from public sight, or are known to have died. It is at this time that the first 'battle suit' heroes and villains begin to appear and add strength to the metahuman community, with the heroes predominating. Beacon Harbor, the first city with efficient nuclear power and many local, offshore oil reserves, largely ignores the great energy crisis that engulfs many other cities. Its industries boom as others around the nation sag. Every major corporation has a division based within the city. By the end of the decade, Beacon Harbor is among the top five cities in the nation, and the main center of metahuman activities in the world. As the seventies grew into the early eighties, the growing number of superheroes has slowly overwhelmed the overpowered and outnumbered villains of Beacon Harbor. Super-villainy was at an all-time low, with only one or two super-powered battles per month, which the citizens of Beacon Harbor considered peaceful. The era of Reagan was very kind to Beacon Harbor, their military manufacturers again booming, and the city teeming with growth and prosperity.  
  
The Eighties  
  
The eighties continued the upward climb of the heroes. Little could stand against the heroes in their collected might. They controlled the city, and were the love of all. As the decade passed, many heroes became indifferent and complacent, assured that they could handle any crisis, as they had for years. Some of the leaders of the heroic community even retired, assuming that the years of great danger have passed.  
  
Slowly, methodically and with great mutual suspicion, the various subdued criminals and crime lords began to work together. They recognized their errors of squabbling amongst themselves, and their public actions that brought the heroes down upon them time and again. They began working quietly, behind the scenes, oblivious to the remaining heroes that seemed to seek only the limelight. Slowly, their plans melded and came to fruition.  
  
By 1985, they were ready. It started slowly. An older hero, retired for many years, was found dead in his bed. All assumed natural causes. Then, a hero was killed while with his family in a car accident. Then a young heroine committed suicide by overdose. The incidents were random, none connecting to any other. By 1987, the villains were ready for the final grasp for power.  
  
One day, a member of The Protectors, the greatest superhero team of Beacon Harbor, and America itself, was found dead, shot in the head in his home, his family slaughtered with him. It was a shock, the first member of The Protectors to be killed in two decades. Less than a month later, a heroine of The Protectors was found, mutilated in a gutter. Two months after this grisly discovery, a married hero and heroine simply disappeared. Three weeks later, another hero of simply quit, with no explanation, and moved to Europe. The remaining heroes strove to find the source of these disasters and occurrences, but they were mystified. Yet, the killings, retirements, and disappearances continued methodically.  
  
By 1989, many heroes were in fear of life and family. Half their number had been killed, disappeared, or driven away for these same fears... Some hardy souls still struggled to fight against the growing wave of crime lord and supervillain superiority. Yet, through control of the media of Beacon Harbor, few citizens of the city really, truly realized what was happening to its heroes, and its city. Calls for help from civilian authorities were swiftly passed on to crime lords in exchange for money, favors, or out of fear. The remaining heroes of Beacon Harbor were demoralized and lost.  
  
The last doom was upon the heroes of Beacon Harbor. A giant raid was launched upon the Protectors' headquarters and the remaining heroes within slaughtered, some in their sleep. Within a week, the building, once one of the most famous in Beacon Harbor, was leveled in what was labeled 'a mysterious explosion'. After the standard obsequities to the greatness of the defunct team, the block was made into a mini-mall. The age of the great heroes was finished, and an air of evil hung over Beacon Harbor like a pall of doom.  
  
The Nineties  
  
The decade began with the utter defeat of the heroes of Beacon Harbor, and the victory of the crime lords and villains. To the ordinary citizen, little had changed. In fact, the calm was refreshing. No super powered battles in the streets, no deaths from stray cosmic blasts or trucks thrown through the air. The heroes, like any entertainers, were missed, but other activities quickly distracted the public from the gradual diminution of the superhero community. Yet, despite the veneer of peace, the crime lords of Beacon Harbor held the city like a vise. Nothing of importance happened without their joint approval. If a superhero dared to show himself on a regular basis, they combined their efforts and destroyed the interloper. If a civilian dared to cross the crime lords, that person simply would disappear. Everyone in the city slowly began to realize something was terribly wrong, but as long as it didn't affect them, they didn't try to find out. It had gotten around that finding out could be dangerous.  
  
Despite the seeming calm, the apparent utter victory of the crime lords and villains of Beacon Harbor, there were cracks that could be seen. Each realized the power they wielded, as each took a section of the immense city under their sway. At first, after their collective victory, they met regularly to coordinate their efforts, just as they had to destroy the heroes. As time passed, and each became more comfortable with the power each controlled, the meetings became more infrequent, and clashes became inevitable. Without the threat of heroic intervention, the combined egos of the conquerors turned themselves against one another.  
  
As the middle years of the last decade of the millennium passed, the various crime lords and super villains were nearing the boiling point. Small disagreements who controlled a certain block or a particular building brought colossal egos into collision. The fights began with small, quiet little demonstrations of power, such as the subtle, unpublicized slaying of a particular crime lord's anonymous thug, or the arson of a small business, each meant to send a message to another. As these messages became more violent, and more public, the citizens of Beacon Harbor came to realize in what danger they and their city was.  
  
As the virulence of the attacks between the turf-wielding crime lords and supervillains increased in intensity, a group of scientists and wealthy citizens gathered together. They had little hope of help from other cities, as each had its own problems. They were aware that the civilian authorities of Beacon Harbor were paralyzed with fear and corruption. One man, the brilliant Dr. Erick Banderweg, had developed a device that would allow probing into other dimensions, as part of his work for an area crime lord. With the aid of other scientists, and the fronting of the wealth of these millionaires that feared the destruction of their city more than the crime lords, they began to research further into this dimensional portal. It was given a codename: Project Infinity.  
  
By early 1997, the project was approaching fruition. Physicists, millionaires, theorists, all worked together to build the Project Infinity device. Their hope was two-fold. They wished to bring enough of this otherworldly energy into this universe to allow them to create more super powered people that might fight the crime lords and supervillains. Meanwhile, they would use the device to exile the villains to other universes. Their hopes were high.  
  
The day before Project Infinity would be realized, Dr. Banderweg disappeared. The remaining scientists, if they didn't understand how Banderweg's machine worked, knew how to make it work. They equally knew that if some crime lord had gotten Banderweg, that person might very well be on the way to steal the project. Quickly moving into action, they engaged Project Infinity. As the machinery ground into motion, an explosion was heard, followed quickly by the invasion of the laboratory by the villainous lackeys of the crime lord. As fighting commenced, Project Infinity continued on with its computer controlled course.  
  
As the screams of dying scientists, guards, and millionaires mixed in with the energy blasts and muscle-rending blows of the villainous invaders, the Project formed a small rift in the fabric of time. As a blast struck the project, the entire building was leveled in a fiery explosion that shattered windows for miles...it seemed that the crime lords had won again, and Project Infinity was just another failure.  
  
Within the next few days, the oddest things began to occur. Costumed people began appearing out of thin air, with only a faint bluish tinge and the smell of ozone upon their appearance. Heroes and villains from other universes started to appear in random locations throughout the mighty, supine city. As the citizens soon found out, Project Infinity was a success...but whether it will save or doom Beacon Harbor, no one yet knows... 


End file.
